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bankruptcy; (5) payment to Berliner Cohen in the amount of
$22,000 for legal work relating to petitioner’s bankruptcy and
partnership dispute; and (6) payment to Murray & Murray in the
amount of $15,660 for bankruptcy trustee services.
Petitioner presented copies of checks, invoices, and his own
testimony as support for the claimed deductions. However,
petitioner failed to establish that the payment to Dr. West was
for actual legal expenses that petitioner incurred. Accordingly,
we hold that petitioner is entitled to a deduction of $42,540
($57,924 claimed deduction minus $1,635 concession minus $13,749
payment to Dr. West).
B. Depreciation
Petitioner claimed a deduction of $20,815 for depreciation.
Section 167(a) allows as a depreciation deduction a reasonable
allowance for the exhaustion, and wear and tear, of property used
in a taxpayer’s trade or business.
Respondent argues that Dr. West owned the rental equipment
that depreciation is being claimed on and that petitioner’s
depreciation schedule is unreliable because petitioner failed to
link the expenditures for the equipment with the depreciation
schedule and equipment identified in the equipment lease.
Petitioner argues that he owned the equipment for the entire
taxable year 1993 and that he has depreciated such equipment in a
consistent and accurate manner.
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